Try the FATHER BROWN series by G. K. Chesterton. It was a treat to discover these one day in the library. I had read one of the short stories in an anthology - “Oracle of the Dog” and was pleasantly surprised to find that all the stories compiled into a few large volumes.
:eek: 
I have the most recent one, Last Scene Alive, but I haven’t read it yet because none of my local bookstores have the first installments. Of course, I could order it off Amazon or something, but I prefer to scour the actual bookstores, it’s the closest I come to treasure-hunting. 
Although, I did have to resort to mail-order for Shakespeare’s Champion.
The Vampire series is fun. The main character, Sookie, is pretty much a telepathic Lily Bard with a better sense of humor and a little less trauma. I think you’ll love them.
Yay! Thanks, jsgoddess! I think I’ll start with the Owen Archer series, as it’s set in medieval Wales and the Cadfael mysteries spend a lot of time there.
Best. Thread. Ever.
If you like Peter Robinson and Martha Grimes, check out the Caroline Graham series featuring Chief Inspector Barnaby. (I included Elizabeth George in this list, but she writes far “heavier” books – in terms of attitude and the number of pages – so she wouldn’t fit with this particular recommendation).
Then there’s the Meredith Mitchell and Alan Markby series by Ann Granger. Same type of series in the Robinson fashion.
I also heartily recommend the Peter Diamond books by Peter Lovesey. He matches a solid Christie-derived mystery (one of them – “Bloodhounds” – is actually a locked-room mystery set on a houseboat) with an inrascible detective. The books are also set in Bath.
Moving northward, Ian Rankin set his Inspector Rebus series in Edinburgh. He’s written about 15 books, and is very highly regarded in the mystery world. His earlier novels have been repackaged (in the UK at least) in three-packs, beautifully done. This series is a little rougher than Lovesey/Granger/Graham. Rebus is a hard-drinking loner, so the “Scotch noir” phrase applies. If nothing else, reading the books will garner some recommendations for great rock music.
If you’re a hard reader like me, that’ll set you up for a month or two.
If you like historical mysteries, you must try Bruce Alexander’s Sir John Fielding series.
Most of my other favorites have already been listed, but here are a few that haven’t.
Linda Barnes - Carlotta Carlyle
Nevada Barr - Anna Pigeon
Linda Faristein - Alex Cooper
I’m a big fan of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine. If you like straight forward police procedurals try Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford books. “Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter,” “Simisola,” and “Road Rage” are all loads of fun.
Better still though are the books she writes under her pen name Barbara Vine. They are more complex psychological thrillers. “No Night is Too Long,” “The House of Stairs,” “A Fatal Inversion” and “The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy” are all impossible to put down. She writes an atmospheric, creepy and addicting mystery. Highly recommended.
Thought of another series.
The Karl Alberg Series by L. R. Wright
These were recommended to me years ago by a librarian. So they must be good, right? 
I haven’t been able to keep up with the series as much as I would have liked, but I really enjoyed the first 5 or 6.
I’ll echo the Father Brown, and in the same vein, suggest the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. Classic, and still very readable.
OK, sure, the stories couldn’t happen today with cellphones and DNA testing and so forth, but they’re still great fun if you can put yourself into the historical setting.
I can’t believe I forgot to mention one of my most recent favorites. But, as a warning, these books are a little, well, racier than most of the ones I’ve seen in this thread. At least, the ones I’m familiar with.
If a lead character, for example, doing drugs and having very meaningless sex is a real turn-off, you’d hate this series.
Lauren Henderson’s Sam Jones stories, starting with Black Rubber Dress. These books are bitingly funny and very clever at the same time. I simply love them.
Drat drat drat! Wrong book. Dead White Female is the first in the series, but I’ve never found a copy of it or the next in the series. Black Rubber Dress seems, for some reason, to be where the publishers have picked up, and the series is definitely easy to start there.
Hey, fellow librarian!
I’d add some recommendations. I can’t stop promoting Dana Stabenow. She has two series going: Kate Shugak, a native Alaskan private investigator/all around competent woman and Liam Campbell, an Alaska state trooper (ooh). The Kate Shugak series is marginally better, IMHO, bu they’re both very fine. Best to read them in the order they’re written.
Someone recommended you Nevada Barr: I second. Anna Pigeon is a great character, very human and believable. And she has a cool job: park ranger.
I also adore Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January series. It begins with A Free Man of Color. The mysteries center around a free African-American protagonist in 1830s New Orleans. You can see the sights, smell the smells… fantastic.
My chief, number one recommendation, is for Lindsey Davis. She’s a Brit author who writes a series set in Ancient Rome. Fellow name of Marcus Didius Falco is the protagonist, with Helena Justina as his partner. They are wonderful, utterly well written and fantastic in every way. Silver Pigs is the first, and should be read first because the series does go in order – although my favorite books do come later in the series. Nonetheless, these are some of the few books that I would run back into a burning house to rescue.
I was initially very reluctant to read Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen series. I do worship the Divine Jane and thought putting her as a character in a mystery series to be heretical at least and cheesy at best. Then I found the books were actually well written and enjoyable, so I do read them. They’re worth a go.
Lastly, amid all the other recommendations, I’ll stand for a Brit: Dorothy Simpson. Her CI is Luke Thanet, who changes and develops over the course of his series. Can’t remember his DC’s name, but the mysteries are cleverly written with good plots and characters. These are perfect for curling up by the fireside, as many of us will be doing in the last few months!
Let’s see. Other favorites? Eric Garcia gets points for originality in his Hot & Sweaty Rex (Vincent Rubio) series, and I really like Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series too. Those are both mystery series of the decidedly “other” variety, but very funny and enjoyable. No one else writes like they do; very interesting.
Enjoy,
Mrs. Furthur
Oh, and I forgot a couple in my previous post.
CJ Box is writing some interesting mysteries (about 4 so far). His main character is Joe Pickett, a Wyoming Fish & Game Warden. Joe is the quiet strong type with an unshakeable moral compass, and I like how his and his family’s characters are developed (he’s married with 2 kids). The plots keep my attention, too. The Wyoming locale adds lots of zest, very Western.
James Lee Burke is one of the best writers out there, mystery or not, for creating a strong sense of place. He has two series going: Dave Robicheaux, a New Iberia, Louisiana cop, and Billy Bob Holland, a former US Marshall in Texas. Both protagonists are very moral men who live by their code, which sometimes leads them into violence. They are fascinating to “watch.” Even more entrancing, however, are the locales: you are in Lousiana with Dave Robicheaux, you can see the bayou and smell the smells. Unparalleled. Plots can be pretty messy, but Burke’s worth the ride.
Jamie Harrison wrote four good mysteries, including Going Local and the Edge of the Crazies, set in Blue Deer, Montana with Sheriff Jules Clement as protagonist. Again, strong sense of place, and I like Jules: he’s a former archaeologist who returned like a lost child to his hometown. He’s not sure he likes sheriffing but does it anyway; his responses to situations are very human and compelling. Harrison seems to have stopped writing, but the four books she did produce are gems.
Okay, I really really will stop now.
Mrs. Furthur
I’m not a big mystery fan, but I love Gregory McDonald’s Fletch and Flynn serieses (seriesi?).
I don’t have any new recommendations for you, since my favorites have already been covered. I do definitely second Dick Francis, though. I especially like To the Hilt, Hot Money, and Banker.
Apparently there’s a new Margaret Frazer series coming out, “starring” Joliffe, the traveling player. (He’s an old friend of Dame Frevisse the nun.) I just bought the first of this series, called A Play of Isaac. Haven’t finished it yet, but I’m enjoying it so far. It’s a very gentle story, as are the Dame Frevisse books, for the most part.
A big, big second endorsement for this series. Hambly does an amazing job of bringing to life a time and place as foreign as anything in science fiction. I also have a real soft spot for Benjamin’s friend Rose.
Dorothy Sayers is also fabulous. Murder Must Advertise is one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time, though the humor doesn’t interfere with the darker aspects.
This thread makes me want to go to the library right now!
Wow! I leave the thread for a little while and now there’s all kinds of stuff to reply to. I’m loving this discussion. It’s great to hear from other people who read the same stuff and it’s even better to get so many recommendations.
Ok, let’s see if I can remember all this…
**ouryL ** Father Brown, eh? I’ve heard of the series but never really looked at it. I’ll check it out. Is it similar to some of the other older British series (i.e., Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, etc.)?
Draelin Lily Bard with a better sense of humor? OK, I’m sold. Maybe I’ll even try these first. Good thing it’s a long weekend and the house is clean!
pesch Caroline Graham - haven’t read these, though they sound vaguely familiar. I’ll take a look. I’d love to find another really good British “police procedural” series. I have read some of the Mitchell/Markby books but stopped after the first 3 or 4 and I don’t know why. Probably time to pick 'em up again.
I haven’t read any of the Diamond books so I’ll definitely add them to my list also.
I tried reading one of the Rebus books (I don’t think we had the first one, so I had to start with, like, the second or third) and couldn’t quite get into it. Maye a bit to noir for me. However, his last couple of Rebus books have received really good reviews and so my interest is piqued again.
**Tamarin ** Never heard of the Fielding series. When are they set? I love the Carlyle and Barr books and read the first three Fairstein books as well.
**koeeoaddi ** I’ve read some of the Wexford series but not all. I’ll try again. As for Rendell-as-Vine, I’ve read Anna’s Book but never remember about the rest. I’ll add these to the list as well!
Slingshot Of course if a librarian recommends it it’s got to be good! That said, I’ve never heard of the Alberg series so I looked it up in our catalog (it’s under Laurali R Wright) and read a couple of reviews - and now they seem faintly familiar. I think I read one of these and didn’t know it was part of a series.
C K Dexter Haven Another plug for Father Brown -OK, I’ll try it! Not sure about the Nero Wolfe series -I’ve read some of the older “golden age” detective fiction and it’s not all my cup of tea (though I can’t say I’ve disliked any that I’ve read). However, I’ll add it to the list.
**jsgoddess ** The Sam Jones stories don’t sound familar - but they do sound interesting. Another addition to the list!
further (or rather, Ms. further!)hello yourself! Yeah, I love the stabenow stuff - both series. I think the last new one was a Shugak (what do you think about her and Trooper Jim getting together? Can’t decide if it’s good or bad…) so the next one ought to be a Campbell. I haven’t read any Hambly - will keep that in mind too. And as for Lindsey Davis, I used to read the Falco books when they first came out and then abandoned them when I started reading more of the British police procedural stuff. I should get back to them as they are still getting great reviews. As a huge Austen fan I’ve also been really reluctant to try any of Barron’s series for the same reasons you mentioned. But, if you really think it’s not too cheesy than I’ll try them. The Simpson books ring a faint bell - either I read them and don’t remember, or I started and never finished. I love this kid of British P. P. stuff (as I just mentioned) so I’m going to take a look at these again. I read the first to Garcia books and thought they were funny, haven’t read the latest. I keep thinking I need to read the Fforde books too, but I suspect they’re best saved for when I can really pay attention to what I’m reading! I’ll try the recommendations in the next post too. The only ones that are familiar are the James Lee Burke.
**burundi ** Of COURSE you want to go to the library right now. We librarians have been planting subliminal suggestions in your head…
Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful suggestions so far. I’m really enjoying this thread. My fingers are beginning to hurt…
John Sandford - The “Prey” series; and the “Kidd” series. I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned him yet.
The Hambly books are hard for me to read. She captures the atmosphere so well that it makes me feel like I have bugs landing on my head! Eeep!
Sayers is amazingly wonderful, but I always assume everyone has already read her.
I’m definitely becoming intrugued with all the recommendations for Hambly. I read a few of her fantasy novels years ago, but not her mysteries.
I’ve been interested in historical mysteries in the past few years and have found these series to be both fun and educational:
Stephen Saylor- Gordianus the Finder series. A Roman detective in the era of Julius Caesar. Cameos by a number of famous Romans; Cicero, Julius Caesar, Catalina, Marc Anthony, etc… . Nicely done and gritty.
Lauren haney- Lieutanant Bak series. An Egyptian police lieutenant at the time of Hatshepsut. Set in Southern Egypt.
Robert van Gulik- Judge Dee series. Set in the Tang dynasty (supposedly). Somewhat dated in style, but fun and a fascinating look at chinese culture in this era.